English hands the same bare words to everyone: "Go!" and "Let's go" work for your best friend and the company president alike. Korean does the opposite — it picks the form of the command or suggestion by who is being addressed, and the imperative and propositive are the two moods where those choices spread out the most. This page collects them into two look-up tables, splits each by stem shape so you can see the 으-buffer appear and disappear, adds the negative command, and flags the single most dangerous trap: the "polite" -(으)ㅂ시다 is not safe said upward.
The imperative table ("do X")
Columns split a vowel stem (가다) from a consonant stem (앉다) so you can watch the buffer vowel 으 surface after the consonant.
| Speech level | Ending | Vowel stem (가다) | Consonant stem (앉다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 합니다체 (formal) | -(으)십시오 | 가십시오 (gasipsio) | 앉으십시오 (anjeusipsio) |
| 해요체 (polite) | -(으)세요 | 가세요 (gaseyo) | 앉으세요 (anjeuseyo) |
| 반말 (intimate) | -아/어 | 가 (ga) | 앉아 (anja) |
| 한다체 (plain/written) | -아/어라 | 가라 (gara) | 앉아라 (anjara) |
Two patterns to lock in. The formal and polite rows (-(으)십시오, -(으)세요) both begin with a consonant, so a consonant-final stem needs the buffer: 앉으십시오, 앉으세요, while a vowel stem takes none: 가십시오, 가세요. The intimate and plain rows (-아/어, -아/어라) instead follow vowel harmony: 앉다 has the bright vowel ㅏ, so it takes -아 (앉아, 앉아라); a dark-vowel stem like 먹다 takes -어 (먹어, 먹어라). Both -세요 and -십시오 secretly carry the honorific -시-, which is why they raise the addressee while commanding.
여기 잠깐 앉으세요.
yeogi jamkkan anjeuseyo
Please have a seat here for a moment. (해요체 — the everyday polite command)
이쪽으로 오십시오.
ijjogeuro osipsio
Please come this way. (합니다체 — service/announcement register)
야, 빨리 와.
ya, ppalli wa
Hey, come quick. (반말 — to a close friend; 오다 → 와)
감기 조심하고 푹 쉬어라.
gamgi josimhago puk swieora
Watch out for colds and get good rest. (한다체 — an elder to someone younger)
The propositive table ("let's X")
Same idea for suggestions. Here the consonant column is 먹다, because 먹읍시다 is the form learners most often get wrong.
| Speech level | Ending | Vowel stem (가다) | Consonant stem (먹다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 합니다체 (formal) | -(으)ㅂ시다 | 갑시다 (gapsida) | 먹읍시다 (meogeupsida) |
| 해요체 (polite) | -아/어요 | (같이) 가요 (gachi gayo) | (같이) 먹어요 (gachi meogeoyo) |
| 반말 (intimate) | -자 | 가자 (gaja) | 먹자 (meokja) |
| 한다체 (plain/written) | -자 | 가자 (gaja) | 먹자 (meokja) |
Note two things the table quietly teaches. The formal -(으)ㅂ시다 takes the buffer 으 after a consonant (먹읍시다, not ×먹습시다) and just -ㅂ시다 after a vowel or ㄹ (갑시다). And the 해요체 has no dedicated propositive — it simply reuses the plain -아/어요 statement: 가요 means both "I go" and "let's go," decided by context (a 같이 up front makes the "let's" reading explicit). So in ordinary polite conversation you often need no special "let's" ending at all.
우리 같이 저녁 먹어요.
uri gachi jeonyeok meogeoyo
Let's have dinner together. (해요체 — plain -아/어요 doing 'let's')
자, 그럼 회의를 시작합시다.
ja, geureom hoeuireul sijakapsida
Alright then, let's begin the meeting. (합니다체 — rallying a group of equals/juniors)
배고프다, 우리 뭐 좀 먹자.
baegopeuda, uri mwo jom meokja
I'm hungry — let's grab something. (반말 — with a close friend)
The negative command ("don't X"): -지 말다
Both moods negate through the auxiliary 말다: -지 말다 for the prohibition. It, too, takes a form per level.
| Speech level | Negative command (가다) |
|---|---|
| 합니다체 | 가지 마십시오 (gaji masipsio) |
| 해요체 | 가지 마세요 (gaji maseyo) |
| 반말 | 가지 마 (gaji ma) |
| 한다체 | 가지 마라 (gaji mara) |
The verb keeps its 어간 + -지; only 말다 conjugates, exactly parallel to the positive imperatives above (말다 is a ㄹ-stem, so its ㄹ drops before -세요/-십시오: 마세요, 마십시오). See prohibition -지 말다 for the full behavior.
여기서는 사진을 찍지 마세요.
yeogiseoneun sajineul jjikji maseyo
Please don't take photos here. (해요체 prohibition)
너무 걱정하지 마.
neomu geokjeonghaji ma
Don't worry too much. (반말 — reassuring a friend)
The caveat that outranks the grammar: -(으)ㅂ시다 aims down, not up
Here is the social trap the tables cannot show. -(으)ㅂ시다 is glossed "formal polite," which fools learners into using it as a safe, respectful "let's." It is not. It carries a take-charge, top-down tone — a leader rallying a group, a chair moving a meeting along. Among peers or juniors it is brisk and fine (시작합시다!, 힘냅시다!). Aimed up at a boss, an elder, or a customer, it sounds like you are issuing marching orders to your own superior.
Likewise the plain imperative -아/어라 is strictly downward — an adult to a child, a senior to a junior — never sideways or up. And -(으)세요, though it is the polite default, is still a command; to a clear superior a softer request frame is kinder.
부장님, 이제 그만하고 저녁 드시죠.
bujangnim, ije geumanhago jeonyeok deusijo
Director, let's wrap up and get dinner. (deferential 드시죠, not 먹읍시다)
선생님, 저쪽으로 가실래요?
seonsaengnim, jeojjogeuro gasillaeyo
Teacher, shall we head over that way? (an offer, leaving room to decline)
Common Mistakes
1. Aiming -(으)ㅂ시다 at a superior. It reads as commanding your own boss.
❌ (사장님께) 사장님, 이제 갑시다.
Presumptuous — 갑시다 commands the group. To a superior say 가시죠 or 가실래요?
✅ (사장님께) 사장님, 이제 가시죠.
sajangnim, ije gasijo
Sir, shall we head off now? (deferential)
2. Using the plain -아/어라 sideways or upward. It is a downward-only command.
❌ (선배에게) 형, 이거 좀 먹어라.
Too commanding to a senior — 먹어라 is downward only. Say 드세요 / 드시죠.
✅ (선배에게) 형, 이거 좀 드세요.
hyeong, igeo jom deuseyo
Here, please have some. (polite, to an older friend)
3. Dropping the buffer 으 after a consonant stem. -(으)세요 / -(으)ㅂ시다 need it.
❌ 여기 앉세요.
Wrong — 앉다 is a consonant stem, so it needs 으: 앉으세요.
✅ 여기 앉으세요.
yeogi anjeuseyo
Please sit here.
4. Writing -습시다 instead of -읍시다. The propositive buffer is 으, giving -읍시다.
❌ 우리 같이 점심 먹습시다.
Wrong ending — 먹다 takes -읍시다: 먹읍시다.
✅ 우리 같이 점심 먹읍시다.
uri gachi jeomsim meogeupsida
Let's have lunch together.
5. Using intimate -자 with someone you owe politeness. Right mood, register too low.
❌ (선배에게) 우리 이거 같이 하자.
Too casual for a senior — use 해요 (or 하시죠), not the intimate 하자.
✅ (선배에게) 우리 이거 같이 해요.
uri igeo gachi haeyo
Let's do this together. (polite)
Key Takeaways
- Imperative by level: 합니다체 -(으)십시오, 해요체 -(으)세요, 반말 -아/어, 한다체 -아/어라. The 으-buffer appears only after a consonant (앉으세요 vs 가세요).
- Propositive by level: 합니다체 -(으)ㅂ시다, 반말/한다체 -자, and 해요체 just reuses -아/어요 ((같이) 가요).
- Negative command = -지 말다: 가지 마세요 / 가지 마 / 가지 마십시오 / 가지 마라.
- -(으)ㅂ시다 is commanding, not deferential — fine down or sideways, wrong upward. To a senior, use -(으)시죠 or -(으)ㄹ래요?
- -아/어라 is downward only; Korean has no neutral bare imperative — courtesy is structural, so default to -(으)세요.
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- One Verb, Four Speech Levels: Master Comparison TableTOPIK 2 — A single verb declined across all four everyday speech levels at once (합니다체 / 해요체 / 반말 / 한다체) — read across a row for the same meaning at four politeness settings, read down a column for the moods available inside one level. Includes the adjective grid that shows why 좋다 has no imperative.
- Negation Table: 안, 못, -지 않다, -지 못하다TOPIK 1 — Korean's four negation strategies laid out as SHORT (pre-verbal 안 / 못) vs LONG (-지 않다 / -지 못하다), with the split English merges: 안 = choosing not to, 못 = being unable to. Plus the three traps — 못 doesn't negate adjectives, 하다-verbs split under 안, and 'don't!' is -지 마세요, not 안.
- The -(으) Insertion Table: When 으 AppearsTOPIK 1 — The linking vowel -(으)- surfaces only between a consonant-final stem and a set of endings, is absent after a vowel stem, and disappears in ㄹ-stems (which drop the ㄹ instead) — laid out ending by ending across all three stem types.
- Polite Commands & Requests: -(으)세요 / -(으)십시오TOPIK 1 — -(으)세요 is the everyday courteous 'please do X': it commands while raising the addressee, because it hides the honorific -시- inside. Its crisp formal sibling -(으)십시오 is the language of announcements and service. Includes the suppletive honorifics 드세요, 주무세요, 계세요.
- Let's: -(으)ㅂ시다 / -자 (and Everyday -아/어요)TOPIK 1 — The propositive ('let's ~') has one form per speech level: formal -(으)ㅂ시다 (갑시다), plain/intimate -자 (가자), and, in ordinary polite talk, the plain -아/어요 doubles as it (같이 가요). The catch: -(으)ㅂ시다, despite being 'polite,' can sound bossy aimed at a superior.